Stupid
by secretpenname3
Summary: Hinata wasn't stupid, if she was she never would have seen the jealous, pain-filled eyes of Sasuke Uchiha as he stood as best man for her marriage to Uzumaki Naruto. SasuXNaru
1. Runaways

**Okay, this is another strange one I came up with.**

**This one is told in the point of view of Hinata, I know, a bit strange. But personally I like Hinata, I think she's actually a strong character on the inside…she just has to lose the whole "I'm crazy Naruto stalker" deal. **

**Disclaimer: yeah right.**

**oOoOoOoOoOoO**

Contrary to belief, Hinata was not as stupid as everyone seemed to believe. Because if she was truly as unintelligent as everyone depicted her to be, she would have never have stood up for herself, braving glaring white eyes and stern faces to say what she wanted to say. She never would have stood so tall nor firm against their harsh words and sharp tongues if she was weak like they thought she was.

She never would have refused the challenge her family forced her into against her beloved but cold younger sister if she was weak.

If she was stupid and weak she never would have won either.

But she did.

And it was satisfying for her to see the stunned faces of her whole family for once, with her own power surprising them into silence.

She stood and bathed in the silence, standing before her sister lying crumpled on the ground staring up at god knows what in shock, blood tricking from her mouth.

She didn't stop there, how could she when she finally gained the recognition she always craved for as a child from her family? She could not stop, not when the respect that was always lacking was now pointed to her, putting her on equal ground as her cousin.

Every time she walked down the halls of her home they bowed their heads in respect, stepping aside to let her through and muttering in respectful greeting.

And it killed her.

The way the once easy going branch members that taught her how to cook and clean would lower their eyes and shy away, falling silent the moment she stepped through the door. The way they'd flinch away when she'd approach. It pained her to see the way her once proud and haughty sister would flinch and shy way as soon as Hinata would reach out to her.

Her little sister was afraid of her; perhaps they all were.

And she tried to not let it get to her. So she pushed it away, the sinking, suffocating feeling that crawls up her throat every time they avert their eyes and shuffle away.

**OoOoOoOo**

If she was being true to herself she'd admit that this probably was the wrong way to go about this situation.

If she truly was as idiotic as everyone believed she'd keep this going, dragging it out till there is nothing left but broken and hurt feelings.

She was.

Because she was ignoring the warning signs, the red flags that flash across her mind, completely disregarding what was underneath the underneath.

But the fact that she _sees_ them proves that she's not stupid.

"…I do."

The room was bathed in flowers, white beautiful flowers with soft petals and dark green stems with soft leaves.

The carpet that ran down the center of the room was a bright red, a striking contrast to the white of her elaborate dress.

Her hair was styled with beautiful white and light blue ornaments that jingled every time she moved her head.

Her soft hands were cleaned and calm against her elaborate dress, not jittery in the least.

The elder of her clan, her grandfather, nodded at the man's words never taking his eyes off of her. He stood next to her, tall and proud, blue eyes never leaving the wall behind her grandfather, blond locks never once tamed.

"And you Hinata?"

Should she answer? Because she wasn't stupid. She felt the small killing intent radiating from the man beside her future husband.

She saw the jealous pain filled eyes of Sasuke Uchiha.

She wasn't stupid because she knew those black orbs weren't directed at her.

But at Naruto.

But she wasn't all that smart either because she knew she wasn't going to stop this, not when Naruto Uzumaki finally looked at her, asking for her hand in marriage.

"…I do."

And the rest was a blur of cold faces from her family and happy smiles from her friends. Nothing could damper this day.

Nothing but the broken look on Sasuke Uchiha's face.

**OoOoOoOo**

"Uzumaki-san-"

"Hinata."

"Pardon?"

"My name, please call me by it."

"Ah, yes, well, Hinata-san, how do you to this fine day?"

It had been a year since her marriage to Uzumaki Naruto. A year filled with happiness and laughter, promises of happy endings, one she had almost convinced herself she had found.

But she knew it was a sham, because it had been a year and Uzumaki Naruto had done nothing more than kiss and hug her on her wedding night. She had slept next to him in her silk night gown and watched him roll in his sleep, muttering one word in a broken voice.

"_Sasuke."_

Perhaps this is why she never likes to be called Uzumaki; only Hinata.

She wasn't stupid. She had seen the looks thrown to and from her husband towards the last Uchiha.

But she wasn't smart either because she tries to deny it.

**oOoOoOoOo**

"Hinata, how are you today?"

"Fine father and you?"

"Pleasant."

It was summer time, a year and two months after her marriage and she was not surprised her father had requested she have tea with him.

"And your husband?"

She remembers tortured blue eyes gazing after the lone Uchiha.

"Busy."

"As expected from a member of Anbu."

"Yes."

But she knew why she was here, she may have been married and moved from the Hyuuga house hold, but she was ex-heir, and she had proven she was strong, she had proven she would have strong children.

Strong Hyuuga sons.

"Hanabi?"

"Strong."

"Is she adjusting well to her new duties as heir?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful."

This is what she fought so hard to gain, a moment alone with her father, respect and acknowledgement. She had longed to have conversations like this with her father.

And now, after so long she finally got what she wanted.

-she hated it.

**oOoOoOoOo**

"Come home Hinata-sama."

She doesn't move from her spot, staring with detached eyes as her strong beloved cousin kneels before her in the market place, face pointed to the ground, body rigid and tense.

"Please."

"Get up, don't kneel before me, I'm no longer you're superior." She tells him.

"I kneel before Hinata Hyuuga, Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan."

"You kneel before the wrong person; I am no longer Heiress, or a Hyuuga. Kneel before Hanabi Hyuuga."

He raises his head, eyes set and jaw tight.

"I kneel before the true heiress, Hinata Hyuuga."

**oOoOoOoOo**

She pretends to not see it. The way Sasuke's hand lingers on Naruto's arm a few seconds longer than necessary. She pretends that Naruto looks at Sasuke that way because he's his most precious friend. She pretends that the look of pity thrown her way by Sakura is just a trick of the light.

She pretends to not notice how Naruto becomes the epitome of happiness the moment Sasuke walks into the room.

**oOoOoooOoO**

"Sorry 'Nata I have a mission I need to get moving on."

"How long will it take?"

"A few weeks, maybe three, but I'll try to hurry back."

"I see, well, be careful Naruto-kun."

"I will, see ya!"

And now for the test.

"I love you Naruto-kun."

A pause, a moment of hesitation.

"I'll see you later."

And the quiet shut of the front door.

And this was the beginning of the fall of Hinata Uzumaki.

**oOoOoOoOo**

It was two weeks later that she was assigned a mission of her own, one she would be accompanied by Uchiha Sasuke.

It was a very important mission, one that would send them to the border of Cloud.

It was dangerous.

If she was smart she would have said no and turned down the mission.

But she wasn't and here she was, walking down the dirt road with the man who hated her.

When night fell and it they had set up camp she bent before the fire and made enough food for two.

"I'm not hungry."

Ah, rejection, something she was immune to now it seemed.

"I see."

The trip was silent but she was sure she was suffocating from the wave of hatred that flowed from her silent partner.

If she didn't die from the enemy, surly this man would slit her throat and be done with it.

She had seen the signs, the way her husband's blue eyes would stray from her and watch the last Uchiha live his lonely life.

She wasn't stupid because she had seen the fire that burned between them the moment their eyes connected.

Blue clashing with black.

But she wasn't smart either because she refused to believe what her eyes saw.

She refused to believe her husband had married her to escape his forbidden feelings for his friend. She had denied that there may have been something between them.

She didn't want to admit that there may be something between them still.

**oOoOoOoOooO**

"Move!"

That one word was hissed into her ear and even though she heard it, she ignored it.

Because the kunai that was heading towards her wasn't fast.

But it wasn't slow either.

If that kunai pierced her chest like it intends to perhaps her husband could truly be happy. Because she wasn't an idiot, she sees the pain that her husband carries with him every night he crawls into bed with her.

She hears the softy whispered word he mutters when the lights are off and he runs his fingers through her black hair.

Black like Sasuke Uchiha's.

Sasuke, Sasuke , Sasuke, Sasuke.

Fuck it.

She didn't move. She stood there and watched with detached eyes as the kunai pierced her flesh, ripping through it like water.

"Idiot!"

And there he was, Sasuke Uchiha fighting the enemies to save her life.

The life of his most precious person's wife.

The world was turning black and she didn't fight it.

**oOoOoOoOo**

"Why didn't you move?"

Ah, so she lives. She finds that she's lying on a bed of leaves and blankets, bandages wrapped around her chest.

He sits before her, blood staining his pale flesh.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

Were the only words she gives him.

And she watches as confusion claims his eyes, a look that seemed so out of place for a man like him.

"Stop who from what?"

"Why didn't you stop him from marrying me?"

And the look turns to shock.

Hinata can't help but muse that such a look on his face makes him look human.

She can't help but smile a bit when she sees that the shock turns into complete rage.

"You don't know what you're saying."

"You love him"

"Shut up."

"But why?" she inquiries back.

"Because you're saying a bunch of bullshit."

"You hate me."

"I do."

"Because he married me."

"That's not why."

"Then why?"

"Because you're fucking weak now shut up! No more of this!" his voice raises as he moves to stand, rage swirling in his eyes.

She doesn't move and watches with blank eyes as he shakes his head knuckles white from the force of his anger.

"You love him." She whispers to him, eyes watering as the image miserable blue eyes on her wedding day flashes before her eyes.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"**Shut up!"**

She never once flinches, not even when he's suddenly on top of her, hands around her dainty neck squeezing tighter and tighter, cutting off her air supply.

"You know nothing about him! Nothing!" he screams into her face, watching with glee as her flesh blooms into colors of red and blue, "You know nothing of his pain, nothing of how much he struggled, you're not his precious person, you're weak, how could someone as weak as you be enough for him?" she chokes for air, blinking back the onslaught of tears, "How dare you fucking touch him, he's not yours! He never was! You're not enough!"

She can't help but chuckle internally because his words stopped making any sense. His hate, miserable filled sentences were choppy, thoughts unfinished, starting with one pain and finishing with another.

But he was right. She wasn't enough for Naruto, she never was..

She wasn't stupid.

But she wasn't smart either.

And as the world once again began turning black a miserable, pitiful life flashed before her eyes.

Her married life; filled with nothing but big signs of an unhappy husband and a cold bed.

She sees Naruto's regretful eyes every time they stray to their wedding photos and his wedding finger. They way he'd tilt his head to the right when he'd look at her in the darkness, she knew he imagining the man she knew he loved.

She sees the way he'd lean just a bit closer to Sasuke when he was near him, how his eyes would light up just by feeling his presence nearby.

She sees the way he'd relax, just by hearing his beloved's name.

And most of all she sees how he'd cry at night from terrifying monsters, whispering only one fucking name.

"_Sasuke."_

**OoOoOoOoo**

She wakes up in a hospital bed a few days later, white stern eyes watching her with concern.

"Please," she says, "Please."

She drops her head, hair curtaining her face.

"Come home." She cries.

It's not every day, Hinata muses to herself, that your younger sister shows up crying, begging you to come home to a house she's always hated.

**oOoOoOoOo**

"What the FUCK did you do to her?"

"Naruto! Calm down!"

"He fucking hurt her!"

"She's fine-!"

"He almost **killed** her! Had Sai not arrived in time he would have-!"

"Enough." And just like that, the room went still and silent. All eyes and attention darted towards the woman lying on her bed, sitting up strait, chin raised and hands resting gently on her lap. Hinata's eyes were sharp, no longer soft as they had been in her youth.

She watched.

Watched as even though he was furious, Naruto was leaning ever so slightly to a distraught looking Sasuke.

She saw how Naruto's eyes darted from her back to Sasuke, hands twitching with what she knew was the desire to reach out and cares the dark haired boy.

Watched as Sasuke leaned just that much closer to her husband.

Tsunade stood by the two boys, gazing at her with knowing eyes. Sakura stood near with Sai, a look of apprehension on her face.

"I want to speak to Naruto," she paused, "Alone."

She watched as one by one they all walked out of the door, curious looks upon their faces until only Naruto and Sasuke stayed. She watched him with harpoon like eyes, challenging him silently.

"I'd like to speak to my husband in private Uchiha-san." She says calmly. His eyes narrow and he stiffly turned on his heel and walked away.

"Nata-chan, how are you feeling-?"

"Naruto-kun?"

"…yes?"

"I want a divorce."

She wasn't stupid. Because if she was she would never have caught the slightest hint of relief masked with panic.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**

She had no regrets.

Not when her father looked at her with no emotions as she stood before his door, bags at her feet.

Not when Neji fell to his knees whispering 'thank god.' Over and over again.

Not when her little sister Hanabi stood in the doorway, a look of relief overshadowing the bags under her eyes.

Not when the Hyuuga council members stood by with stern but relieved looks on their faces.

And not even when she sat in the front row, watching as Uchiha Sasuke walked calmly down the aisle, with Kakashi escorting him, a look of pure happiness reflecting off of the face that stood at the ultar.

Uzumaki Naruto looked as hansom as the last time he wore a tux. Even now his hair was wild and the tie on his black tux was crooked. And once Sasuke reached his side, dressed in his own black tux, he reached out and straitened his soon-to-be-husband's bow-tie.

'Dobe.' She heard him say.

'Teme.' She heard him respond.

She wasn't angry. She was just fine, even when the priest gave the okay and Naruto threw Sasuke up against the altar pillar and snogged the hell out of the surprised but happy Uchiha-boy, basking in the cat calls and whistles.

"Hinata-sama, it's time to go." Neji whispered to her after the wedding reception began. She watched as Sasuke lifted his finger, covered in cake and stuck it in his husband's mouth.

She watched as Naruto leaned over and licked a bit of frosting off his husband's cheek, a grin unlike she had ever seen before, on his lips.

"Yes." She answered back.

She had no regrets.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Review please! :D**


	2. Take Me Home

**So I had gotten many questions about this one surrounding the Hyuugas and all that jazz, I had finally decided to make a second chapter to hopefully answer those questions presented to me **_**years **_**ago. I hope you all enjoy it and please remember to leave a review, and before anyone asks no, it's not a NejixHinata. **

**I have a tumblr and an Ao3 account, if anyone wants to add me links are on my bio.**

/././

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When Neji is three he's more than certain he will marry his mother. She's kind and always smelt of apples; her eyes were always hard around the edges even when she smiled but she always made sure Neji ate enough, that much he remembers. He remembers the way she would scold him for slouching, reach for her food with her left hand instead of her right even though Neji _knew _she was using the wrong one.

He never asked though, just accepted it and observed like he was taught and watched how his mother's hair would fall into neat trails over her shoulders. Father would be seated across from her, Neji to his right and that's how it always was. Their meals would be filled with a comfortable silence and every once in a while Neji would spy the way his father's mouth would tighten whenever his mother winced or pulled at her bandages when she came home from a mission.

His memory of her after that gets fuzzy, the scent of apples and kindness replaced by a cold tomb stone and an empty chair.

When he's four he gets ushered out the door in his best robes with his father's hand in his.

"Where are we going, father?" he asked.

Father wouldn't say but Neji sees the way his mouth tightens.

When they get closer Neji realizes their heading toward the Main House and Neji feels a hint of fear, quickly masking it behind straight shoulders and a tight mouth.

"Neji," his father says finally, "its Lady Hinata's birthday today."

Hinata is a name Neji has heard a lot, recognizes the name for what it was, Lady Hinata was the heiress to the entire clan, the first in line and someone extremely important to them all. And more than that, she was his cousin. Neji had never seen her before, only heard whispers of her name and briefly, he wonders if she would have eyes like his mother's. He had always been told the Main Branch was the strongest there ever was, with the pure blood line pulsing through their veins and igniting their eyes. And Hinata would rule them one day, lead them into glory like the others had before.

When he first lays eyes on her she's half hidden behind her father's leg, shyly peaking her eyes out and glancing at him with a flush on her face. A smile lights up Neji's face and he turns to his father, whispers to him, "She's cute, Father."

He plans on marrying her the same way he planned on marrying his mother.

His father gives him a smile that's more of a grimace and Neji sees how his jaw clenches. "What's wrong Father?" he asks in confusion

His father shakes his head, "Oh, it's nothing,"

"I will take Neji now, Hizashi." Hiashi speaks and Neji is confused further as his father nods, and takes a step back and away from Neji's side.

"Yes."

Neji is silent, but watches with wide eyes and spies Hinata being pulled away by an older man with bandages over his own head, he guides her away with a gentle hand and a kind face. He glances back at Neji, gives him a tight-lipped nod and continues away. Neji is confused as his father takes another step back, urges Neji with sad eyes forward and Neji can't help but feel as though he was being abandoned. That this man who wears his father's face, was a stranger.

After that it is just a burning memory of pain and screams that were never heard and bandages and his father's regretful face.

The next day he's given a purpose, by Lord Hiashi himself and it's his father who explains it when they watch Lord Hiashi train Lady Hinata. That same man from before who guided Lady Hinata is there, sitting in the opposite corner, his eyes trained on only Lady Hinata.

"Listen, Neji, Lady Hinata of the main family, you will live to protect her and the Hyuuga Blood."

"Yes Father." Neji responds without hesitation because Hinata was born into the Main Branch, she is strong, will be stronger than them all and he needs to be strong enough to protect her and the Hyuuga Blood she holds. His chest swells with pride, for he had been chosen amongst everyone else in the clan, he will be by her side, protecting the future and their entire clan together. He will protect her, the holder of their future blood and she will fight alongside him, a member of the Branch and Main family; partners in everything they stand for.

Only, it's something of a lie.

It's evident in the way he watches his father crumble to the ground, screaming and clutching his head and Lord Hiashi stands towers over them. Neji begs for it to stop, looks frantically to Lady Hinata, wills her to rise up and help because she is his Heiress, she will lead them one day and she should be enough to stand up to Lord Hiashi and put a stop to this.

Only she cowers away, shakes and her eyes are wide in horror and tears are falling from her eyes and she makes no move to help, doesn't stop it and Neji's world falls apart and angry tears make their way down his cheeks as Hiashi banishes them from the room.

That man is there; he reaches down, grabs his father and hefts him up over his shoulder, his eyes hard and his mouth pinched as he takes Neji's burden from him.

As he helps his father to the door, Neji glances back, eyes burning in betrayal at the pitiful sight of Lady Hinata trembling behind her father's back, tears spilling down her cheeks and not making one move to help even then.

Lady Hinata is not strong. She is weak and Neji suffers for it.

It costs him a father.

And he is forced to stand by her side, forced to watch over the poor excuse for an heiress, a girl not worthy of her title and he is smug when she gets kicked to the floor.

"Your footwork is poor!" Hiashi snarls "Get up!"

She trembles and stumbles to her feet; Neji thinks she's a coward for doing what her father says even if she's at her limit. She doesn't fight him, does what he says without a peep and Neji thinks it's pathetic. It's not fair, she's weak, she's nothing and yet she has everything Neji was denied. She has freedom to do what she wants, except she cowers away, does what she's told as if _she _were a slave to the clan. As if _she _was duty bound and caged in with a hateful mark upon _h_er forehead.

It makes the hatred grow each time he's forced to stand with her, by her side with every birthday that passes.

When Hanabi shows more promise than Hinata, five years her junior Neji wants to laugh though the chain that chokes him, that holds him back and restrains him to Hinata's side. Because Hanabi is _second_ born, has _more_ talent than what she's expected and Hinata is in her way. The chains of fate are there and Hanabi is _so _lucky she is a girl otherwise she would have been chained up too. Only, she's named second Heiress and should Hinata fail at being a ninja- well.

The only way to fail at that is through death.

Perhaps that's why Hiashi was so keen on giving her away to Kurenai for training, giving up on the lost cause that was his daughter.

Neji accepts his fate for what it is, the destiny that was stuffed down his throat and knows that no matter how much he hated it, he would still have to protect the Heiress, no matter what. So he glared her down at the exams, tries to get her to leave because he won't be the reason he fails at his job just because she's too stubborn to stand down.

He won't be punished for her weakness a second time.

She trembles before him, cowers behind an invisible shield and tears slip from her eyes. She's a coward, a weakling and Neji is doing her a favor by manipulating her to leave. It's the last and only favor he would do for her.

Only she doesn't back down, gives her all and Neji has never seen her eyes that fierce. Briefly he remembers his mother's eyes, kind but harsh around the edges. But Lady Hinata's are filled with something else, a fierce determination that burned and glowed in ways Neji can't understand. She fights to change her fate, fights with strength she's_ never_ shown before.

It angers him.

_Where was this strength when he needed it?_

So he beats her down, hates her and every droplet of blood that spills from her lips and he is angry, fraying at the edges every time she stands back up.

_Why couldn't you have gotten up then?_

And then- and then she had the gall to call him out, to bring to the light that was her namesake the true pain of his existence. Shows the chains that choke him and shoves it in his face. So he tries to end her, tries to snuff out the light in a _blind _haze of anger.

When she's carried off Neji sneers and the anger grows when the ball of yellow idiocy that calls himself the next Hokage bends down, dips his fingers in her Hyuuga Blood, soils it with his touch and threatens Neji with it, _promises _revenge and Neji hates him too. Wants to beat him down and show him that no one is safe from their destiny. Lady Hinata and Naruto's fates cannot be changed in the same way his cannot.

When his opponent is announced he's only slightly surprised, hides it with a smirk, knows everyone will be watching, even his uncle. So he taunts him, tries to show him a bit of mercy by trying to convince him to forfeit. But the idiot refuses, and before Neji knows it, his story pours out, his anger, his bitterness; grips the bars of his cage and rattles them so loud that even this idiot can see them.

His expression doesn't change, if anything, it grows fiercer, glows like a fire and Neji wants to put it out.

So they fight, each hit he delivers brings him closer to the overwhelming bitterness that he was going to be proven right.

No one can change their fate.

When he gets hit with the strongest uppercut he's ever received he's more than surprised. Shocked really, to stare up at Naruto as he stands over him; a winner.

Tears spill from his eyes as Hiashi bows before him, on his knees with his unblemished forehead on the ground.

The chains get a bit more bearable then.

Then the invasion begins and Neji breaks from the Genjutsu he makes a run for it to the hospital. Remembers the whispers from the other members that Hinata was admitted into room 101. He attempts to break out as many nurses that have fallen prey on the way and when he throws open her door she's not there. He stops a passing nurse who was on her way to wake any unconscious and demands his cousin.

"She was released early this morning." She says and continuous on her way.

That's when the explosions start and he's off running faster than he thought possible with only one thought running through his head; one purpose, one name.

"Hinata!" her name spills from his lips as he skirts around the corner, uses his byakugan to find her.

She's there, in the stands off to the side on the floor unconscious and he sees someone hovering over her. In his momentary panic he gather's chakra in his palm and attacks. The person turns and blocks and Neji gets a good look at his face.

"Ko?" he blinks, a vague memory of Ko always nearby in the shadows, taking a young Lady Hinata by the hand and leading her away.

The man who helped with father to his room the day Lord Hiashi activated the seal.

"Neji," Ko nods.

"We need to get her out of here," Neji says, in a low voice, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest and thankful it wasn't still.

"We can't move her," Ko says, eyes piercing, "she's too fragile right now, if she's jostled even a little bit she could go into cardiac arrest. We're too far from the hospital, we won't make it."

Shame gnawed at Neji's stomach, he gazed guiltily back at Ko, "Where is Lord Hiashi?"

"He took Lady Hanabi to safety," Ko responded, "He could not move Lady Hinata in her condition."

Neji glances at her again, her face twisted in pain and Neji could hear her shallow breathes and closes his eyes to ward off Ko's eyes.

"And he didn't stay with her?" he asks, "Why wouldn't he stay with her, you could have taken Hanabi and-"

"He had to take Lady Hanabi to safety, if anything happened to her-"

"Lady Hinata is the Heiress!" Neji bursts, "She is what matters! That's her destiny! To leave her unprotected-! I am her protector! I protect the true Heiress!"

"Neji," Ko spoke firmly, his voice hard, "I am Lady Hinata's protector, I watch over her- no, Listen to me Neji," he scolded, "at that time, when the leader of Cloud tried to take her, you were too young, you could not protect her at the age you were then. Yes you were always by her side but that was because you had to become aware of her abilities, so that you know everything she was capable of, But you were in the middle of your training; someone had to take care of her. Someone experienced and stronger until you could reach a point where you could-"

"And it was you," Neji interrupted, his tone more accusing than he had attended.

Ko nods, reaches down and strokes her hair and Neji sort of wants to snap his fingers in half.

"Lady Hinata is the first in line, yes, but in the elder's eyes, she is expendable. In their eyes Lady Hanabi is much more valuable. But she is also younger, more vulnerable. Lady Hinata's wounds are still grave, should she not make it," he cuts off with a frown, "Hanabi has to be able to take up the position. That's why Lord Hiashi took her, that's why he didn't stay behind."

"That's not right," Neji says, "Lady Hinata is first, the entire clan should have been here, protecting her. Instead they leave her to the wolves, to die. She's the true heiress, she should have the best protecting her."

"Isn't that why we're here now?" Ko says with a small quirk of his lips.

They wait there until the explosions stop and the fires are snuffed out; Ko left Lady Hinata in Neji's care with the promise to return with a medic and Neji was left in silence, sending regret filled eyes toward his unconscious Heiress, his Ko's words burning through his mind.

/././.

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When the rain dies down and the world is silent, Konoha, a proud leader down, is slowly moving forward. There is nothing but the sounds of things struggling to start over, buildings being rebuilt and people jumping back into the daily races.

Neji doesn't make a sound, doesn't dare speak.

Instead he drops to his knees, presses his forehead into the cold wooden floor and waits. Lady Hinata's hand is gentle, warm against his shoulder and when it urges his head up she's kneeling before him, a timid smile on her face so achingly similar to the one she first presented to him years ago.

"It's o-okay," she says, a warm light in her eyes as she guides him to stand with her, "A-All is forgiven."

And they're there, suspended in time until Neji bows his head, smiling when she inclines her head as well, showing respect to one who isn't even deserving of it.

"She's always been like that," Hama, the kitchen branch maid says, "Always brings me flowers she grew herself. Lady Hinata shows everyone respect, whether we are branch or not. Poor dear, always used to get scolded by Lord Hiashi at times but she continues to do it anyway. For such a sweet girl she could be quite rebellious at times."

There's a tug at the corner of Neji's lips at Hama's words, remembers the way she would always get up, no matter how many times she was beaten to the floor.

He'd spent years pondering ways to escape his cage, doesn't revolt like he used to and it all makes sense in only a few seconds. Neji had realized that this, this is _Hinata _his fierce cousin, neither his jailer nor his cage. She's his friend, his companion in this horrible world that was constructed without their say and he's so very sorry it took this long to fully realize it. Realizes that there is a certain freedom in others and knows that when the time came for her to rule them, that there would be no more cages, no more keys and no more curses. She will stop it, she will abolish such petty rules and everyone would see her for what Neji now knows her to be.

A leader.

/././.

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Lord Hiashi nods his head in approval when Neji requests to train with him. He's grateful and says his thanks when Hinata leaves tea and sweets, smiles gently at him like the warm rays of sunlight she was named for when she watches them train.

Time rolls on and before they all knew it there's another Hokage to lead the village, a woman with fierce strength not only in body but in mind and Neji wonders if Lady Hinata will rule the same way; if one day she would stand tall before the elders and bring change.

"I have to do it myself," she tells him one day, "I can't rely on Naruto-kun to do it, it will be my Clan someday, and I have to be strong enough to change things myself."

It sparks something within Neji, opens his eyes to the real Lady Hinata, who seems far too timid and far too weak to lead anyone much less an entire clan.

So he trains her harder, stays by her side for as long as he can until that day Naruto shows up and he follows him into battle and nearly doesn't even come back.

Lays dying on the forest floor, sees the light streaming through the trees and there is warmth there, seeping through the trees and thinks of Lady Hinata and her fierce gaze. When he wakes up in the hospital, sore but very much alive he breathes easier, knows the road ahead will be long and rough; looks forward to it if it means there will always be sunlight to guide the way.

Lady Hinata is the first to greet him home, tries to help him to his room but the others won't let her, assure her that they would bring him safely to his room and Neji calls to her over his shoulder.

"Next week, lets train together," he says with a smile, "Please be ready, Lady Hinata."

He's not angry anymore; the cage that binds him is bearable now that there's sunlight to chase away the choking darkness. He heals just fine, takes Lady Hinata's training as serious as his own and soon she surprises him by landing sold hits more often than not. Beams with pride when she passes the chunin exams and partakes in the celebration the clan holds just for her.

"Will it be like this?" Hanabi asks him, "When I pass, will it be like this?"

"Well," Neji says, "probably not."

"I'm not her," Hanabi says, "I won't lead the clan, no matter what they say."

"And why is that?" Neji asks, surprised.

"Well for one," Hanabi says with curled lips, a secret that Neji isn't sure he'd ever be able to understand, "I don't grow flowers."

"How is that relevant?" he asks with a confused tone.

"Flowers only grow in the sunlight," she says with a small smile and walks away.

/././

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Time passes on and soon she blossoms, a shy thing that's prone to fainting spells now that Naruto's back and Neji only shakes his head and dusts her off.

She leaves for a mission one day with the parting promise to watch come home safely and Neji and Hanabi are there to see her off. Lady Hinata shoulders her pack and gives them a warm smile and but Neji can't help but to think that something is wrong, that something is lurking in the unknown and he has half a mind to request he be put on her team. But there's no time and this is a time sensitive mission that has to be done. Lady Hinata reaches out, pats Hanabi's head and nods at Neji and before they know it she's gone.

She doesn't come home in time and soon, before anyone knows it of her entire team only one makes it back a week later. He's bloody and fatigued, muttering things that make no sense and they find him collapsed just outside the village gates. A team is immediately dispatched, and Neji is furious to find he is not one of them.

"You're too emotionally involved," Lady Tsunade says.

"Then you know where she is, what's happened to her," Neji accuses.

"That's classified," she says in dismissal, her eyes steely and her jaw set.

He goes home that night, burning with rage and teeth clenched.

"The flowers are wilting," Hanabi says later on that day, voice low and soft in ways Neji never knew it could be. "She always took such care of them."

"No one has watered them," Neji responds, eyes unwavering from the wilting petals.

"That's not why," Hanabi frowns, "It's because there's no sunlight."

/././

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Lady Hinata is brought home a month later, in the arms of one Uzumaki Naruto, unconscious and bloody and Neji is a wreck of nerves hidden beneath a cold exterior. She's in the hospital for over a month and was not allowed visitors. There are hushed whispers among the Main Family; that this was finally it, that if she doesn't make it, Hanabi can finally take her 'rightful' place. Hanabi frowns, girts her teeth but says nothing.

"Why won't you tell them?" Neji asks, "That you have no intention of leading?"

"The same reason you have no intention of telling them to shut it." She glowers, frowning at the flowers that refuse to continue to grow beneath her care.

Lady Hinata gets better, but she's different. There is stillness to her now, a cold chill that set in while she was away and in the hands of the enemy. Before Neji could so much as speak to her he's called away to a mission and he returns a month later, breathless and tired but victorious, a grinning Naruto by his side and Uchiha Sasuke following with a scowl on his face. It doesn't feel like a victory, not when he comes home to see wilted flowers and a nervous Hanabi.

"They want me to fight her," she says, a frown on her face and a tremble in her hands, "They want us to settle who is the strongest once and for all."

"They can't-!" Neji starts.

"They have," Hanabi interrupts, "And when now that she's almost completely healed, in two weeks' time I have to fight her."

Neji watches as she crumbles a little, fighting off a shiver, "I don't want to."

"But you will."

She grimaces, "I will."

Lady Hinata doesn't say much, a tight smile on her lips when Neji finally goes to see her. She's sitting up with her feet folded neatly beneath her and a cup of tea beside her as she gazes into the dying garden.

"Will you fight?" Neji asks, his voice hushed and hesitant.

"I will," is all she says.

Neji takes her to her room despite her assurances that she would be fine and when he's sure she's safe, goes to find Lord Hiashi.

"She will lose," Hiashi sighs, "Hanabi has been proven to be stronger and the council wants to declare a solid Heir."

"So you've pitted them against each other," Neji frowns.

"Neji," Hiashi says, "even _you_ can see that something within her has changed, they are suspecting she might not be…in the right of mind."

"And winning a battle will prove that she's not?"

"It will prove her worth."

And that was that. For two weeks Neji is forced to listen to the endless whispers if whether or not Hinata would win or lose. In that time surprisingly, Naruto had been around much more than usual and finally, Neji corners him.

"What happened to her," Neji demands, "You were the one to rescue her, I want to know what happened."

Immediately the goofy face and clumsy flail of limbs disappears, a set jaw clenching and electric blue eyes hardening.

"That's classified." Is all he says.

Neji, surprisingly, finds no answers from him.

/././

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The day of the fight arrives and Neji is frozen in shock when the smoke clears and Lady Hinata is standing tall, her eyes light with a fire Neji hasn't seen in months, Hanabi flat on her back, a small trail of blood trickling down her chin from the corner of her mouth, her eyes wide open in shock. There is reigning silence until Lady Hinata turns and walks away, silently being declared with victor and Neji could only watch helpless as she draws deeper into herself more and more.

The clan slowly begins to pull away, and Neji himself is surprised when Hanabi flinches as Lady Hinata reaches out to pat her on the head. Lady Hinata frowns, pulls her hand away and turns to walk the other way down the hall.

Naruto shows up that afternoon, with a handful of daisies and Neji watches him like a hawk when Lady Hinata leaves with him and soon Neji nearly has a heart attack when she tells him that they're dating.

None of it makes sense, why would Naruto even _think _about dating Lady Hinata when every time Sasuke even _walks _into the room Naruto perks up and watches his every move? Neji sees the way Naruto lights up by just being in the same room as the Uchiha, all flailing limbs and smiles and nothing makes sense. Only Neji finally sees the problem for what it was, sees the way Naruto gets to close to Sasuke, sees when he jerks away with a nervous look on his face and voice stuttering that he has to leave because he's meeting up with Lady Hinata.

For the first time in his life, Neji muses, Naruto is running away. And infuriatingly enough, he's using Lady Hinata as an escape.

The unsettling feeling in Neji's gut intensifies when Naruto proposes a few months later and Lady Hinata accepts without hesitation.

"She can't," Hanabi screams, "She can't do this! She won! She's stronger than I am; she's supposed to lead this clan! Not get herself exiled for agreeing to marry some idiot that isn't a Hyuuga!"

"Calm yourself," Hiashi says, "I did not exile her, she _chose_ to leave."

"You can't let her do this!" Hanabi shouts, getting to her feet and shoving her food away, "You can't! This cannot happen!"

Only it does, Lady Hinata gets married and the entire clan attends, standing in rows and gazing with a stiff resignation when they speak their 'I do's'. Sasuke, Neji has noticed, is a dark shadow leaking anger at Naruto's side as best-man.

The flowers in the garden die away, sad brown things that once stood proudly and Lord Hiashi gets someone to cut them away despite Hanabi's protests.

"Heiresses don't have time for this nonsense." Hiashi said.

"Hinata did." She snaps, a dead flower in her head.

"You are not her." Hiashi says coldly before turning to walk away.

/././

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"It's colder," Hanbo, a Hyuuga elder says, cradling a cup of tea in her hands.

"Winter is approaching," Neji says.

"No," Hanbo shakes his head, "Not the weather, this place, this compound, it's gotten colder." He casts a gaze to where garden once was and frowns before turning away. Neji sighs and wonders if anything would ever be the same again.

/././.

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On a cold October returning from a mission, Neji faces Naruto and looks him square in the eye.

"Stop this," Neji says, "Let her go, this has gone on far enough."

Naruto blinks in confusion, an angry twist to his lips and Neji sees Sasuke look up from his scroll a few trees away, eyes narrowed.

"Look, Neji," Naruto says, "I'm sick of you consistently telling me to leave her, as if you expect me to drop our relationship just because you're telling me to. Well I won't; she's my wife and I love her. You need to start realizing that."

Sasuke flinches and Neji tenses with anger.

"For a man who claims that he never would; you're doing a whole lot of running away." Neji says coldly.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"That you're too afraid to face the truth and you're using this farce of a marriage as an excuse to run away."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Naruto shouts.

"Drop the act!" Neji snaps.

"My _marriage _isn't an act!" the blonde yells, reaching to yank of the collar of Neji's clothes, whether to pull him closer or to wring his neck, Neji doesn't know, "So I married your cousin; get the fuck over it-!"

"Hey!" Shikamaru calls out, dropping down and taking a firm hold of Naruto's wrist, "Knock it off already!"

"End it, Naruto," Neji hisses, knowing that Sasuke was watching every second of it all, "this isn't right."

Only nothing from that moment changes, and nothing Neji ever does or says makes any difference. Naruto doesn't end things, makes it worse by dragging it on and on and Neji is physically sick with it all, his stomach revolting and his mouth aching from clenching his jaw so many times to keep from screaming. Lady Hinata never once visits the compound and Hanabi is beside herself as she has been since day one.

/././.

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In a year and two months' time Neji nearly drops his pack in shock when he sees Lady Hinata come around the corner and towards him. Her gaze is on the empty garden and she stops next to him with a frown on her face.

"What happened to the flowers?" she asks gently.

"They died away," Neji croaks, remembering that this is the first time that she's come home to the compound since she's been married.

"No one has been watering them?"

Neji shakes his head before bowing.

"No sunlight."

Hanabi comes to him that night, head bowed and shoulders sagging from the weight of a world that she never wanted.

"Help me," she says, "Help me bring her home."

/././.

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There is no ounce of shame within him when he kneels before Lady Hinata in the market place.

"Come home, Lady Hinata, please." He begs.

Her face is set and she throws a wary look around.

"Get up, don't kneel before me, I am no longer your superior." She says, her eyes wary but hard around the edges as she glances around.

"I kneel before Hinata Hyuuga, Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan." Neji speaks with a firm voice, never once rising from his position.

"You kneel before the wrong person; I am no longer Heiress, or a Hyuuga," Her voice turns to steel. "Kneel before Hanabi Hyuuga."

Neji raises his head, eyes set and his jaw tight, takes in the image of his true Heiress with her eyes of steel and her lips twisted in a frown. He looks at her, remembers the girl who once stood fearless before him, fire in her eyes and blood dripping down her chin and trembling knees as she refused to back down. He thinks of Hanabi, shoulders drooped and defeated as she struggles to take up the world that rightfully belonged to Lady Hinata. He thinks of the Branch family, silent and resigned as their small glimmer of freedom that they had found within Lady Hinata faded away. He thinks of himself, a protector who was robbed of his destiny.

"I kneel before the true heiress," he says, "Hinata Hyuuga."

In the end she walks away, back tense and Neji has never felt that the world was colder since that moment. She doesn't come home, resigns to not visit and Hanabi shakes her head.

"It's not your fault, Neji. She has to come home, for real this time."

Neji looks at her, _really _looks at her; takes in the drooped shoulders and defeated stare. When she approaches him a week later, a haunted look on her face and blood-shot eyes he allows her to sit next to him in his room.

"They're going to make me brand someone," Neji hears her say, "I don't want this, but I don't know how to fight it. Hinata, Hinata would have changed things by now, she would have gotten rid of the curse seal and none of this would have to happen."

She leans against his shoulder, face shrouded in darkness.

"Bring her home."

/././.

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The weeks roll by and Neji races to the hospital once he hears Lady Hinata was admitted after coming home from a mission with _Sasuke Uchiha _of all people, he tries to see her, but is stopped by the Hokage herself.

"We need the full report before anyone can see her." She says.

The report is given a day later, and though Neji doesn't know what happened; the Hokage refused to tell. And just like the last time, the only people who seem to know what had happened was Team 7 themselves, save for Naruto, who had yet to return from his own mission; and they refused to speak.

The bomb that was dropped later in the week in the form of Lady Hinata showing up at the compound and a ring-less finger; her hair is in utter disarray and she's still covered in bandages and there are bags at her feet. Hiashi sits motionless but Neji falls to his feet, the knot in his stomach loosening and his body trembling with relief as he gives mutters 'Thank God' over and over. Hanabi stands in the doorway, relief lessening the bags beneath her eyes.-

Lady Hinata smiles, that light that had gone mission so long ago returning and it's like a fresh breath of air stealing away their fears and their hopelessness; obliterating a world of cold darkness that had descended upon them all.

"I'm home." She says.

Neji knows that this is it, this is the moment; if needed, he would march into battle beside her, cover her back with the full knowledge that she would cover his with equal fever. There's a certain feeling that falls over him knowing that his small cousin who once peaked at him from behind her father's robes would stand by his side, protect him just as fiercely as he would protect her. And now that she's back for good, she will finally be what she's always meant to be.

A fearless leader who would set the birds free.

/./.

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**Review please! Let me know what you all think!**


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